From Darkness
by heidipoo
Summary: Chris and Ashley were the only ones to escape the mountain that night, and now they need each other more than anything to get away from darkness - and into light. Both of them want to forget, but between the nightmares, the death of their friends, and PTSD, how could they not remember?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey all! It's my first Until Dawn fic! I'm not sure how long it's going to be, and to be honest I'm not even sure what's going to happen - I just had to get it out of my system - so if you have any suggestions, or whatever you want to see happen in the story, be sure to let me know. I am a full time college student and work two jobs so I update when I can. Thanks for reading; if you like what you see, leave a review!**

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"I have confirmation on _two_ survivors… Let's pick 'em up."

The night was unbearably cold as the two climbed into the awaiting helicopter; the very thing that was their savior from this literal hell on earth. Chris held Ashley in his arms as she shivered violently, weeping, and clinging to him for dear life. Both were shaken up, both were terrified, and both did not know the words to describe the events that had happened that night. Chris tried to focus on the moment they were in now; he tried to focus on Ashley, he tried to focus on that they were getting away. But that still didn't help the lingering thoughts in the back of his mind about his friends. They were all gone now, and hell, Mike and Sam had risked their lives to save he and Ashley.

From the mess, Chris and Ashley were the sole survivors. Everyone else they presumed dead, or captured by the wendigo. It wasn't a pleasant thought to have; so as they sat in the loud helicopter, they merely stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. Were there such words for a moment like this? Probably not. But they were all each other had left, so Chris knew that he had to be strong for Ashley, even if he wasn't very strong for himself. He knew he could let his frustrations out later; the girl in his arms was his focus now. He held onto her tightly, her beaten and battered body, and just thanked every god in the universe that they were still alive, even if it was in this certain predicament.

The chopper ride lasted a whole of about twenty minutes, until they were landing at the police station and being ripped from each others arms. It was such a blur, Chris wasn't even sure he could remember everything that had happened. Ashley hadn't stopped crying and he had to do his best to assure her that they would see one another again. It was police protocol for them to be questioned alone, and they had to be questioned because all their friends were gone. Chris was taken into room three, and despite Ashley's protests, she was taken into room one.

"So was there anyone else on the mountain with you?" A female voice had asked Chris. He assumed she was an investigator from the types of questions that she had been asking him. And hell, he was tired, he was weak, and they were giving him the third degree. Ashley lingered in the back of his mind, and he wondered how she was doing. He could have guessed easily though that she wasn't doing well.

Chris cleared his throat before he answered, "The old man… I, uh, I don't know how to describe him. I mean-"

"You said you thought he was stalking you at first? Did anyone else in your group think that?" The female voice continued to question. Her lilt driving Chris crazy. He wanted out of this tiny room; he just wanted to go home with Ashley.

"Well yeah," He answered simply.

"Is it possible that they could have killed him?"

" _What?_ " He inquired, angrily and taken aback. "No, of course not. Look, you don't understand." But of course the police wouldn't believe them, nobody would believe them. Hell, Chris couldn't even believe it himself. It was something out of a movie, or book of some sort; nothing like this could have ever happened in real life, ut it did. Nevertheless, despite everything, it happened. The wendigos were real and there wasn't a goddamn thing anyone would do about it. This was a lost cause.

"If he attacked you-"

"He saved my life." Chris deadpanned, which was the absolute truth. "And I watched him die."

"So you weren't alone on the mountain?" The woman confirmed.

"No." Chris said weakly, and she continued with her questioning. He couldn't take this anymore, it was driving him crazy. He couldn't stop thinking about his friends, he couldn't stop thinking about Ashley. She was the only thing he had left, and he just wanted to be with her right then and now. He couldn't wait to get out of this damned interrogation room.

Meanwhile, in room one, Ashley was still in the long process of answering her investigator's questions and telling her side of the story. It was no doubt that they would be here for a few hours. However, she was tired of getting the third degree and then not have anyone believe her answers. Everyone probably thought she was long gone and crazy by now. "I heard Jessica." She explained. "I don't know how or why she was down there, but I know it was her." She had managed to dry up her tears momentarily, but absolutely no part of her wanted to talk about this, especially when they all thought it was a joke.

"And what about Josh?" The female voice asked.

Ashley shook her head, "The wendigo… It has to be."

"What?"

Ashley sighed angrily, "The monster! It took him down into the mines where it lives… And Sam and Mike they went to go find him and we were going to meet back at the lodge but-" She was talking very quickly now, and struggling to keep it together. "Can I go home now?" She inquired through teary eyes. "I just… I need to get out of here. Where's Chris?" She cried, burying her face in her cold and bloodied hands.

"I'm going to need you to calm down please." The woman replied.

"Calm down!?" Ashley nearly yelled. "All my friends are dead and you want me to be calm!?" She screamed incredulously before erupting into new sobs.

Chris had managed to hear her from the other room and began to panic. "Can I be with her please?" He begged, before bolting out of the room and going to Ashley. "Shh… Ash, it's me… It's okay." He wrapped the fragile body in his big arms and comforted her. This was going to be harder than he thought, because his own eyes were welling with tears.

"I just want to go home Chris." She hiccuped. "Take me home, _please_."

"Okay." He whispered with a nod. "Okay."

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 **A/N: To be continued...?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Unfortunately this will be the final chapter.**

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The ride home was long, too long if Chris were being honest with himself. He wasn't even sure how he and Ashley had managed to get their way into the police car; it was all too much of a blur. After he had gotten Ashley to calm down, at least for a few moments, he had found a police officer who was nice enough to give them a ride. And now, here they were, in the back seat of a cop car, Ashley's head on Chris's shoulder, and getting lost down the winding roads as they made their way back into the city. It would take them a few hours to get back, and their bodies were tired, but their minds were still going a mile a minute; still trying to process just exactly what the hell had happened, and if it actually did happen.

Ashley sat unmoving, the majority of her weight on Chris's body, and her chest rising and falling with each breath. God, she was thankful for him... Hell, if it weren't for him, she'd be an even bigger mess than what she already was. And if she had lost Chris like she had lost the others... Well, she didn't even want to fathom that possibility. Her cold fingers found his and she locked them together, fearful that he might disappear on her. As of right now, all they had were each other, and Ashley didn't know if that was going to be enough. How were they going to come back from this?

Chris wished he had answers for her, he really did. She was so curious, and so smart, but he couldn't ease her mind, and when he could, it was only for a few moments of time. If it were up to him, she'd never feel pain again in her life. So that was his goal, from this moment out - he was going to do whatever he could to protect her, to help her get better, all while healing himself. It would be no easy task, as he knew that. It would be a constant daily struggle... But for her? For Ashley? Oh god it was worth it if he got to spend each day with her.

It felt like forever when the police car finally pulled up in front of Chris's place, and he and Ashley were shuffling out of the vehicle. He thanked the officer for the ride and wished him a safe one back before taking Ashley's hand and guiding her to the door of the apartment complex. "It's okay if you stay here tonight, right?" He inquired quietly, his own voice sounding foreign to him. The only thing Ashley could do was nod, her voice deceiving her at the moment. After all, Chris figured it was better if the two weren't alone for awhile. So he led her inside the nearly empty flat, hoping she could rest her mind and sleep.

But it was late, and she claimed she wasn't tired, she claimed she wasn't hungry, so Chris ran her a bath knowing it would help her relax. The water was hot to touch and smelled of the shampoo he used to wash his own hair, but he knew Ashley would find it comforting. After finding one of his t-shirts for her to sleep in, he left her alone in the bathroom so she could wash whatever was left of the mountain off her beautiful body. "I'll be right out here if you need me Ash, okay?" He wanted her to know that he was readily available.

"Okay." She answered, getting ready to close the bathroom door. "Chris?"

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Thank you." She spoke softly before shutting the door with a click. He didn't reply, only gave her a gentle smile before going to change his own clothes and make the bed. He'd shower once she was done with her bath, but he wanted to make sure that Ashley had everything she needed before he took care of himself, after all, she was sensitive, she was fragile, and she was doing a really good job of keeping everything together at the moment.

And so she stripped off her bloodied clothes and threw them in the trash, never wanting to look at them again. She studied herself in the bathroom mirror, not recognizing who she was with her black eye and busted lip, her hair matted to her face and the rest of her body bruised black and blue. Ashley wouldn't lie, the scalding water felt amazing on her body, but she wished it was hotter. And she scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, hoping to forget, not wanting to see her dead friends each time she closed her eyes. She thought bathing would make her feel normal, but would she ever feel normal again? How would they ever recover from this? This was truly only the beginning.

Once she was finished, Chris let her lay down while he showered himself. After all, he didn't want to get in the clean bed as dirty as he was. But he showered quickly, not wanting to leave Ashley by herself, and once he was done he got into the bed with her. She was still awake, which he was very surprised by. He knew she had to have been exhausted, because he was himself. So they laid beside each other, staring at the ceiling in silence until Ashley finally spoke. "What are we gonna do?" She questioned, wanting answers, wanting to know just exactly how this was going to work out.

Chris could only think of one thing to say. "Move in with me." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, and he knew that it would help them both out.

"Okay." Ashley agreed. And so it was decided right then and there. The two made a plan to take a break from their college courses, and not tell their parents about the events that had happened on the mountain. Of course, they'd have to let them know about the rest of their group of friends, but they could easily lie about it. Hell, the police didn't believe the truth, so they knew their parents wouldn't either. And then? They would focus on themselves and at least try to heal and forget. Ashley knew they were in for one hell of a ride, and Chris was ready to do whatever it takes to make her better.

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 **A/N: Hey all, so I know I said I was going to try and make this longer, but the truth is my life is just too busy right now to tackle a multichapter story. So as of right now this will be the end to this. I might come back to it in the future but as of right now I'm just gonna stick to oneshots and drabbles. Anyway, thanks for reading. See you all soon.**


End file.
